U.S. patent application number 11/938169 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-14 for presenting media data associated with chat content in multi-dimensional virtual environments.
Invention is credited to Alexander Mendes da Costa, Niniane Wang.
Application Number | 20090125481 11/938169 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40624703 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090125481 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mendes da Costa; Alexander ;
et al. |
May 14, 2009 |
Presenting Media Data Associated with Chat Content in
Multi-Dimensional Virtual Environments
Abstract
A computer-implemented method enables communication between a
first client and a second client mutually participating in a
communication session including a multi-dimensional virtual
environment is claimed. The method includes determining one or more
concepts based on the one or more communications in the
multi-dimensional virtual environment between the first client and
second client. The method includes searching a media database based
on the one or more concepts to produce a search result and
transmitting the search result to the first and second clients for
presentation.
Inventors: |
Mendes da Costa; Alexander;
(San Francisco, CA) ; Wang; Niniane; (Mountain
View, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS, LLP. (PA)
2 PALO ALTO SQUARE, 3000 EL CAMINO REAL
PALO ALTO
CA
94306
US
|
Family ID: |
40624703 |
Appl. No.: |
11/938169 |
Filed: |
November 9, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 ;
707/999.003; 707/E17.001; 707/E17.061; 715/757 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/954 20190101;
A63F 13/12 20130101; A63F 2300/8082 20130101; A63F 2300/572
20130101; A63F 2300/407 20130101; G06F 16/50 20190101; A63F
2300/5553 20130101; G06F 16/40 20190101; G06F 3/048 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
707/3 ; 715/757;
707/E17.001; 707/E17.061 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30; G06F 15/16 20060101 G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: at a server system: enabling participation
by a first client and a second client in a communication session in
a multi-dimensional virtual environment, including: determining,
based on one or more communications in the communication session
between the first client and second client, one or more concepts
based on content of the communications between the first client and
second client in the communication session; searching a media
database based on the one or more concepts to produce a search
result; and transmitting the search result to the first and second
clients for presentation.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the searching the media database
comprises searching an image database for images matching the one
or more concepts.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more concepts are
distinct from the content of the communications between the first
client and second client in the communication session.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the image database comprises an
index mapping concepts to images.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the media database is dynamically
updated.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the media database comprises an
image database, and further including dynamically updating the
image database so as to include images associated with news
events.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the presented search result is
associated with an object in the multi-dimensional virtual
environment.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the search result is presented in
a pre-defined region in proximity to the object in the
multi-dimensional virtual environment to which it is
associated.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the search result is displayed as
a thought associated with the object in the multi-dimensional
virtual environment to which it is associated.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: searching the media
database based on one or more further communications between the
first client and second client in the communication session to
produce an updated search result; and transmitting the updated
search result to the first and second clients for presentation.
11. A method comprising: at a server system: enabling participation
by a first client and a second client in a communication session in
a multi-dimensional virtual environment, including: searching a
media database based on one or more communications between the
first client and second client in the communication session to
produce a search result; and transmitting the search result to the
first and second clients for presentation, wherein the media
database is dynamically updated.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the searching of the media
database comprises searching an image database for images matching
one or more concepts, the one or more concepts based on content of
the communications between the first client and second client in
the communication session.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more concepts are
distinct from the content of the communications between the first
client and second client in the communication session.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the image database comprises an
index mapping concepts to images.
15. The method of claim 12, including updating the image database
so as to include images associated with news events.
16. The method of claim 11, wherein the search result is
transmitted to the first and second clients for presentation in a
pre-defined region in proximity to the object in the
multi-dimensional virtual environment to which it is
associated.
17. The method of claim 11, further comprising: searching the media
database based on one or more further communications between the
first client and second client in the communication session to
produce an updated search result; and transmitting the updated
search result to the first and second clients for presentation.
18. A server system, comprising: one or more processors; memory;
one or more programs in the memory to be executed by the one or
more processors, the one or more programs comprising instructions
for: enabling participation by a first client and a second client
in a communication session in a multi-dimensional virtual
environment, including: determining, based on the one or more
communications between the first client and second client, one or
more concepts based on content of the communications between the
first client and second client in the communication session;
searching a media database based on the one or more concepts to
produce a search result; and transmitting the search result to the
first and second clients for presentation.
19. A server system, comprising: one or more processors; memory;
one or more programs in the memory to be executed by the one or
more processors, the one or more programs comprising instructions
for: enabling participation by a first client and a second client
in a communication session in a multi-dimensional virtual
environment, including: searching a media database based on one or
more communications between the first client and second client in
the communication session to produce a search result; and
transmitting the search result to the first and second clients for
presentation wherein the media database is dynamically updated.
20. A method comprising: at a first client: participating in a
communication session with a second client in a multi-dimensional
virtual environment; receiving media data based on one or more
concepts in the one or more communications between the first client
and second client in the communication session; and presenting the
received media data.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the one or more concepts are
distinct from text of the communications.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein the media data comprises one or
more images, and further comprising: displaying the one or more
images in a pre-defined region in proximity to an object in the
multi-dimensional virtual environment with which the one or more
images are associated.
23. The method of claim 20, further comprising: receiving
additional media data based on one or more concepts in the one or
more further communications between the first client and second
client in the communication session; and presenting the additional
received media data.
24. A client system, comprising a first client, the client system
comprising: one or more processors; memory; one or more programs in
the memory to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or
more programs comprising instructions for: participating in a
communication session with a second client in a multi-dimensional
virtual environment; receiving media data based on one or more
concepts in the one or more communications between the first client
and second client in the communication session; and presenting the
received media data.
25. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs
to be executed by a computer system comprising a first client, the
one or more computer programs comprising instructions for:
participating in a communication session with a second client in a
multi-dimensional virtual environment; receiving media data based
on one or more concepts in the one or more communications between
the first client and second client in the communication session;
and presenting the received media data.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to the following U.S. Patent
Applications, which are incorporated by reference herein in their
entirety:
[0002] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/935,385, filed Nov. 5,
2007, "Chat Text Distribution to Clients in Multi-Dimensional
Virtual Environment", Attorney Docket 060963-5261-US;
[0003] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/936,053, filed Nov. 6,
2007, "Snapshot View of Multi-Dimensional Virtual Environment",
Attorney Docket 060963-5283-US;
[0004] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/936,447, filed Nov. 7,
2007, "Portals between Multi-Dimensional Virtual Environments",
Attorney Docket 060963-5284-US; and
[0005] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/937,473, filed Nov. 8,
2007, "Annotations of Objects in Multi-Dimensional Virtual
Environments", Attorney Docket 060963-5285-US.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0006] The disclosed embodiments relate generally to a
multi-dimensional computing environment, and more particularly, to
a network enabled multi-dimensional computing environment.
BACKGROUND
[0007] Virtual worlds, such as three dimensional (3D) virtual
worlds, as enabled for instance by languages such as Virtual
Reality Modeling Language (VRML), provide a number of advantages
over two dimensional documents. For instance, three dimensional
virtual worlds hold a promising future in the area of electronic
commerce, as users of an electronic store or electronic mall can
shop through the store and see and inspect the items that are
available for purchase or rental. It is also anticipated that
virtual worlds will become prevalent in business and social
environments as well.
SUMMARY
[0008] A first client and a second client mutually participate in a
communication session including a multi-dimensional virtual
environment. One or more concepts based on the one or more
communications in the multi-dimensional virtual environment between
the first client and second client are determined. A media database
is searched based on the one or more concepts to produce a search
result. The search result is transmitted to the first and second
clients for presentation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a
distributed computer system according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0010] FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example of a
client computer according to some embodiments of the invention.
[0011] FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an example of a
server computer according to some embodiments of the invention.
[0012] FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagrams illustrating an example
of client computers according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of stored
room definitions according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of stored
object information according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0015] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a chat
database and a user database according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0016] FIG. 7A is a flow chart of a process for downloading virtual
environment information to a client for rendering using a 3D chat
client application, according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0017] FIG. 7B is a flow chart of a process for displaying a
snapshot of a multi-dimensional virtual environment at a client
according to some embodiments of the invention.
[0018] FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a
system for displaying a snapshot of a multi-dimensional virtual
environment at one client, while another client renders the virtual
environment using a 3D chat client application, according to some
embodiments of the invention.
[0019] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a
system for displaying a text description of a multi-dimensional
virtual environment at a client according to some embodiments of
the invention.
[0020] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a
system for establishing a portal from one multi-dimensional virtual
environment to another according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0021] FIG. 11 is a figure illustrating examples of indications of
a portal from one multi-dimensional virtual environment to another
according to some embodiments of the invention.
[0022] FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a
system for annotating an object according to some embodiments of
the invention.
[0023] FIG. 13 is a flow chart of an example of a process for
annotating an object according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0024] FIG. 14 is a figure illustrating an example of an annotation
according to some embodiments of the invention.
[0025] FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for
presenting media associated with concepts in communications being
exchanged in a multi-dimensional virtual environment, according to
some embodiments.
[0026] FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a
system for presenting media associated with concepts in
communications being exchanged in a multi-dimensional virtual
environment, according to some embodiments.
[0027] FIG. 17 is a figure illustrating an example of a
presentation format according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0028] Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts
throughout the drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0029] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of
multi-dimensional virtual environments, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed
description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to
provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However,
it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the
present invention may be practiced without these specific details.
In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components,
networks and the like have not been described in detail so as not
to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.
[0030] The following discussion, which precedes the description of
FIG. 1, is provided for the purpose of providing the reader with
some context for the technical description of the embodiments.
However, it should be understood that this discussion is not a
description of any particular invention, and none of the features
or operations should be assumed to be elements of any particular
invention, unless those particular features or operations are
specifically identified in the claims. In the embodiments described
below, a "virtual environment" server system enables users to
interact with other users in virtual environments. Each virtual
environment has a set of objects that create the look and feel of
the virtual environment. The users of a virtual environment can
modify the properties of objects, add objects to the virtual
environment, and can interact with other users currently resident
in the virtual environment. Some users may be given greater control
over the objects in a virtual environment than others. In a three
dimensional (3D) virtual environment, the environment has three
dimensional objects and the users (as represented by avatars) move
about the virtual environment in three dimensions. The client
device or system used by each user resident in the three
dimensional environment can display a view of the three dimensional
virtual environment from a particular vantage point (e.g., a
particular location in, above, or along the periphery of the
virtual environment). A user may be able to move or select the
vantage point from which he/she views the three dimensional virtual
environment.
[0031] In addition to the objects that occupy a virtual
environment, each of the users currently resident in a virtual
environment are represented by special objects called avatars. Each
user selects his/her avatar, which can include numerous features,
sub-objects and/or properties (e.g., clothing, hair styles).
Avatars also can perform actions (e.g., talk, laugh, walk, move
objects, etc.) under the control of their users. The types of
actions that an avatar can perform depend on the properties of the
particular avatar, and thus some avatars may have different
capabilities than other avatars.
[0032] In addition to objects and avatars (which can be considered
to be a special type or class of objects), virtual environments
also function as chat rooms, enabling the current residents of a
virtual environment to exchange messages in much the same way as
the users of Internet chat rooms.
[0033] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
distributed computer system 100 according to one embodiment of the
invention. This system includes clients 104 and clients 106, a
virtual environment server system 120, and communication network(s)
108 for interconnecting these components. Clients 104, 106 may
include client computer systems, and/or client devices (e.g., smart
phones, cell phones, personal digital assistants, kiosks,
etc.).
[0034] The virtual environment server system 120 includes a chat
server system 130. The chat server system 130 includes an incoming
chat server 135 to receive chat streams from clients 104 and
clients 106. The incoming chat server 135 also receives information
associated with avatar object presence, location and action from
clients 106. In some embodiments, the incoming chat server 135
receives the chat stream data and avatar object presence, location
and action over network 108 using TCP/IP.
[0035] The outgoing chat server 150 sends chat updates to clients
104 and clients 106. The outgoing chat server 150 also sends object
updates, including avatar object updates, to clients 104 and
clients 106. Although in FIG. 1, incoming chat server 135 and
outgoing chat server 150 are shown as two separate servers, in some
embodiments, these can be combined.
[0036] The chat server system 130 includes logic 140 to delegate
processing required for sending updates to clients 104 and clients
106 and/or responding to client queries and requests. Although
logic 140 is shown in FIG. 1 as a separate module, it may be a part
of the incoming chat server 135 and/or the outgoing chat server
150. Logic 140 determines whether to delegate processing to the
delegate server 160 before data can be sent to clients. For
instance, if logic 140 determines that semantic analysis is
required before data can be communicated with clients, or that data
needs to be stored by storage server 170 in addition to being
communicated with clients, then it is first routed to the delegate
server 160 for the semantic analysis or data storage. The delegate
server 160 performs actions that are delegated by logic 140.
Delegate server 160 includes logic 165, for instance for performing
semantic analysis or sending data updates to storage server 170, as
discussed below in reference to FIG. 15.
[0037] The chat server system 130 includes a chat database 155.
Chat database 155 stores chat information associated with each
multi-dimensional virtual environment (also referred to herein as a
"room") that logically exists on the virtual environment server
system 120. Chat database 155 is further discussed with reference
to FIG. 6.
[0038] The virtual environment server system 120 includes a storage
server 170 that includes a room database 180 and a user database
175. User database 175 stores an inventory of avatar objects for
each user of the virtual environment server system 120 and is
further discussed with reference to FIG. 6. Room database 180
stores room definitions (also called virtual environment
definitions), and is further discussed with reference to FIGS. 4
and 5.
[0039] The virtual environment server system 120 also includes a
room server 190 that responds to HTTP requests for virtual
environment data from a client 106. For instance, in response from
an HTTP request from client 106, the room server 190 accesses the
storage server 170 to enable a download of virtual environment
data, such as room definitions, to the client 106. In some
embodiments, requests are made both to the storage server 170 and
to the room server 190. For example, the room server 190 serves
browser HTTP requests (e.g. for web pages such as a list of all the
rooms available), and the storage server 170 serves HTTP requests
made by the 3D client application 110. In some embodiments, one or
more servers depicted in FIG. 1 may be combined.
[0040] The virtual environment server system 120 enables a number
of clients 106 with respective 3D client applications 110 and a
number of clients 104 with respective client applications 112 to
participate in communication sessions that include one or more
multi-dimensional virtual environments. Multiple multi-dimensional
virtual environments logically exist on the virtual environment
server system 120. Client application 110 renders one or more
multi-dimensional virtual environments at the client 106. Thus,
client application 110 enables client 106 to navigate and
participate in multi-dimensional virtual environments. Client
application 110 is discussed in greater detail with reference to
FIGS. 2 and 3A, and is sometimes referred to herein as a "3D client
application," or as a "3D chat client application." Client
application 112, on the other hand, enables the user of client 104
to participate in chat sessions with other users resident in the
same chat room or virtual environment as the user. Client
application 112 is discussed in greater detail with reference to
FIGS. 2 and 3B, and is sometimes referred to herein as a "chat-only
client application," to help distinguish it from client application
110, which enables full participation in the virtual environments
hosted by the virtual environment server system 120.
[0041] The virtual environment server system 120 transmits to a
client 106 with 3D client application 110 chat text received from
other clients 106 and clients 104 participating in a mutual
communication session. The virtual environment server system 120
also transmits to clients 106 information describing a
multi-dimensional virtual environment, which is rendered by the 3D
client application 110, thus enabling clients 106 to navigate and
participate in the multi-dimensional virtual environment. For ease
of reading and discussion, the term "multi-dimensional virtual
environment" will be shortened to "virtual environment" in most
instances in the following discussion. In most, but not necessarily
all embodiments, the virtual environments are three-dimensional
virtual environments.
[0042] The information (transmitted to clients 106) describing the
virtual environment includes information describing avatar objects
representing the clients 106. The information describing the
virtual environment includes room definitions, which are rendered
by application 110 for rendering the virtual environment. Room
definitions are further discussed with reference to FIG. 4.
[0043] The virtual environment server system 120 transmits to a
client 104 with chat-only client 112 chat text received from other
clients 104 and from clients 106 participating in the mutual
communication session. In some embodiments, the virtual environment
server system 120 also transmits to clients 104 information (e.g.,
text) describing the multi-dimensional virtual environment,
including a description of avatar objects representing the clients
106. For example, in some embodiments the virtual environment
server system 120 transmits to a respective client 104 text
describing actions by one or more avatars in a respective virtual
environment (i.e., the virtual environment in which the user of
client 104 is participating as a chat-only participant). In another
example, in some embodiments the virtual environment server system
120 transmits to a respective client 104 snapshots (i.e., images)
of the respective virtual environment in which the user of client
104 is participating as a chat-only participant, for display at the
client 104. Alternately, or in addition, the virtual environment
server system 120 transmits to clients 104 some or all of the same
virtual environment information that is sent to client 106, but
this information may be largely or completely ignored by chat-only
client application 112.
[0044] Communications network(s) 108 may include the Internet,
and/or one or more local area networks and/or wide area networks,
and need not be described in detail because such networks are well
known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
[0045] FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a client computer
200 in accordance with some embodiments. The client computer 200
typically includes one or more processing units (CPU's) 202, one or
more network or other communications interfaces 206, memory 204,
and one or more communication buses 214 for interconnecting these
components. The communication buses 214 may include circuitry
(sometimes called a chipset) that interconnects and controls
communications between system components. The client computer 200
may also include a user interface 208, including a display device
210 and a keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device) 212. The
user interface 208 may optionally include other I/O devices, such
as a keyboard; alternately, the display device 210 may be a touch
sensitive display which receives user input, such as commands, by
sensing user contact with objects (e.g., keys on a virtual
keyboard, or menu items, or other objects) displayed on the display
device 208.
[0046] Memory 204 includes high-speed random access memory, such as
DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or other random access solid state memory
devices; and may include non-volatile memory, such as one or more
magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash
memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices.
Memory 204 may optionally include one or more storage devices
remotely located from the CPU(s) 202. In some embodiments, memory
204 stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or
a subset thereof: [0047] an operating system 216 that includes
procedures for handling various basic system services and for
performing hardware dependent tasks; [0048] a network communication
module 218 that is used for connecting the client system 200 to
other computers via the one or more communication network
interfaces 206 and one or more communication networks, such as the
Internet, other wide area networks, local area networks,
metropolitan area networks, and so on; and [0049] a browsing
application 222, such as a web browser. In some embodiments, memory
204 includes a 3D client application 110 for rendering
multi-dimensional virtual environments. In some embodiments, memory
204 includes a chat-only client application 112.
[0050] In some embodiments, received content items may be cached
locally in memory 204. Each of the above identified modules or
programs in FIG. 2A may be stored in one or more of the previously
mentioned memory devices that comprise memory 204. Each of the
above identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions for
performing a function described above. The above identified modules
or programs (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as
separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various
subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged
in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 204 may store a
subset of the modules and data structures identified above.
Furthermore, memory 204 may store additional modules and data
structures not described above.
[0051] FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating a server computer
242 in accordance with some embodiments. The server computer 242
typically includes one or more processing units (CPU's) 244, one or
more network or other communications interfaces 246, memory 248,
and one or more communication buses 252 for interconnecting these
components. The communication buses 252 may include circuitry
(sometimes called a chipset) that interconnects and controls
communications between system components. The server system 242
optionally may include a user interface 254, which may include a
display device (not shown), and a keyboard and/or a mouse (not
shown).
[0052] Memory 248 includes high-speed random access memory, such as
DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or other random access solid state memory
devices; and may include non-volatile memory, such as one or more
magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash
memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices.
Memory 248 may optionally include one or more storage devices
remotely located from the CPU(s) 244. In some embodiments, memory
248 stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or
a subset thereof: [0053] an operating system 256 that includes
procedures for handling various basic system services and for
performing hardware dependent tasks; [0054] a network communication
module 258 that is used for connecting the server system 242 to
other computers via the one or more communication network
interfaces 246 and one or more communication networks, such as the
Internet, other wide area networks, local area networks,
metropolitan area networks, and so on; [0055] one or more databases
252, such as chat database 155, user database 175 and/or room
database 180 (FIG. 1); and [0056] one or more server applications
254, such an application for implementing the functions of the
incoming chat server 135, logic 140, the outgoing chat server 150,
delegate server 160, logic 165, storage server 170, or room server
190.
[0057] Each of the above identified programs, modules and data
structures in FIG. 2B may be stored in one or more of the
previously mentioned memory devices. Each of the above identified
modules corresponds to a set of instructions for performing a
function described above. The above identified modules or programs
(i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate
software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets
of these modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in
various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 248 may store a
subset of the modules and data structures identified above.
Furthermore, memory 248 may store additional modules and data
structures not described above.
[0058] Although FIG. 2B shows a "server computer," FIG. 2B is
intended more as a functional description of the various features
which may be present in a set of servers than as a structural
schematic of the embodiments described herein. In practice, and as
recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, items shown
separately could be combined and some items could be separated. For
example, some items shown separately in FIG. 2B could be
implemented on single servers and single items could be implemented
by one or more servers. The actual number of servers in the virtual
environment server system 120 (FIG. 1) and how features are
allocated among them will vary from one implementation to another,
and may depend in part on the amount of information stored by the
system and/or the amount data traffic that the system must handle
during peak usage periods as well as during average usage
periods.
[0059] FIG. 3A illustrates an embodiment of a client 106 having a
3D client application 110. Client 106 has a network communication
interface 206 to interface with one or more networks 108. 3D client
application 110 is used by a user of the client 106 to render a
virtual environment (e.g., a three-dimension virtual environment)
using a user interface 208. The user's participant in the virtual
environment, which is referred to herein as an avatar or an avatar
object, logically exists on the virtual environment server system
120.
[0060] The user interface 208 displays a view of the virtual
environment, and the information regarding the user's avatar (e.g.,
commands for changing the avatar's position, or for invoking
actions by the avatar) are sent back to the virtual environment
server system 120 so that the virtual environment downloaded to
each user (i.e., to the client used by each current participant of
the virtual environment) can be updated with information about the
location and movement of each user's avatar. In this way, users are
kept current with the state of each user's avatar. Also, any user
activities which affect the virtual environment from more than a
local perspective are sent to the virtual environment server system
120. Changes in presence, location, and actions of the user's
avatars and other user activities affecting the virtual environment
are referred to as virtual environment updates 240 and are
communicated to the virtual environment server system 120.
[0061] In some embodiments, 3D client application 110 includes a
tool 250, which can be used by the user of client 106 to modify or
specify the position of and actions performed by user's avatar
and/or for authoring purposes (i.e., for modifying the virtual
environment in which the user is currently a participant) using
library 255. The user can use tool 250 to change characteristics,
such as color and texture, of an object instance. The user can also
create new instances of objects, from a library of objects, and can
then modify the characteristics of those objects. Different users
may have different levels of authority for creating and modifying
objects within the context of a particular virtual environment.
[0062] All updates 260, whether due to changes in the user's avatar
caused by the user, or whether received from the virtual
environment server system 120, may be stored in a local database
270. Local database 270 also stores room definitions (i.e., virtual
environment definitions) received from room server 190. In some
embodiments, the local database 270 is a cache or volatile memory
that stores the updates until the user's session is completed or
until the client is powered off. In some embodiments, room updates
are cached and sent to the room server 190 at periodic intervals,
or after the user's session is completed. In other embodiments, the
room updates are sent to the room server 190 upon the user
performing an action with the 3D chat client application. In yet
other embodiments, the room updates are immediately sent to the
room server 190.
[0063] The updated object information and room definitions stored
in local database 270 are rendered by rendering engine 280 in the
user interface 208. The rendering engine 280 includes a command
interpreter (not shown) and may perform the rendering based on a
particular view or perspective of the virtual environment indicated
by the user of client 106. The rendering engine 280 also receives
chat streams and chat updates from chat engine 290, which may be a
part of 3D client application 110 (as shown in FIG. 2) or may be a
separate application. The chat engine 290 sends and receives chat
updates from the virtual environment server system 120, and has a
user interface to receive user commands and chat input.
[0064] As illustrated in FIG. 3A, in some embodiments, images (VE
images) 230 of the virtual environment produced by the 3D client
application 110 are displayed in a display 210 of the user
interface 208. In some embodiments, the images 230 appear as being
a part of a window 225 of a browser 222, such as a Web browser. The
browser 222 creates a window for the rendering engine 280 to render
into. Browser 222 may also be used for making HTTP requests to
virtual environment server system 120 by client 106. The HTTP
requests may, for instance, request updated data needed to keep the
locally displayed images of a virtual environment up to date. In
other embodiments, the client application 110 includes logic 285 to
work with the browser 235 to cause the rendering engine 280 to
render into a window to give the appearance that the window is part
of a web page. Logic 285 may be a part of the rendering engine
280.
[0065] In some embodiments, the 3D client application 110 is a
script-based module, embedded in a webpage served from the virtual
environment server system 120 (FIG. 1). The webpage may be rendered
by a browsing application 222, such as a web browser, at the client
106. When the webpage is rendered, the 3D client application 110 is
executed, thereby providing a web-based interface to the server
system 120. The script-based module may be written in
JAVASCRIPT.RTM., ECMASCRIPT, VBSCRIPT.TM., or any other suitable
scripting language.
[0066] In some other embodiments, the 3D client application 110 is
a standalone application stored in memory 204 of the client
computer 106. In further embodiments, the 3D client application 110
may be an add-on, extension or a plug-in to another application.
For, example, the 3D client application 110 may be a plug-in or
extension to a web browser application 222 or an email application.
In further embodiments, the 3D client application 110 is an applet
downloaded from a server over the Internet.
[0067] The client 106 sends chat stream updates to the virtual
environment server system 120. The client 106 also sends avatar
object updates, including changes to avatar presence,
location/orientation, and actions, to the virtual environment
server system 120. The client 106 may also send one or more
snapshots of the multi-dimensional virtual environment being
rendered at the client 106 to the virtual environment server system
120, as described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and
8. The client 106 receives chat stream and object updates from the
virtual environment server system 120. These updates may be
conveyed to the client 106 using either pull (i.e., client
initiated) or push (i.e., server initiated) communication
techniques.
[0068] FIG. 3B illustrates an embodiment of a client 104 having a
chat-only client application 112. Client 104 has a network
communication interface 206 to interface with one or more networks
108. Chat-only client application 112 enables client 104 to engage
in real-time text-based chat and instant messaging with another
client 104 that also has chat-only client application 112.
Chat-only client application 112 may also enable clients 104 to
send voicemail and files to other clients. Chat-only client
application 112 does not render multi-dimensional virtual
environments. Chat-only client application 112 includes a chat
engine 330 that includes a command interpreter (not shown) and
renders information received from the virtual environment server
system 120 and from user input in a display 210 of user interface
208.
[0069] The client 104 sends chat stream updates to the virtual
environment server system 120. The client 104 also receives chat
stream updates from the virtual environment server system 120.
Further, in some embodiments, the client 104 receives object
updates from the virtual environment server system 120. The
chat-only client application 112 at the client 104 ignores object
updates from the virtual environment server system 120. In some
embodiments, the client 104 receives a text description of avatar
objects present in a virtual environment, which may optionally
include the location and/or orientation of the avatar objects, from
the virtual environment server system 120, as described in greater
detail with reference to FIG. 9. In some embodiments, the client
104 receives a snapshot of a virtual environment from the virtual
environment server system 120, as described in greater detail with
reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.
[0070] In some embodiments, the chat-only client application 112 is
a script-based module, embedded in a webpage served from the
virtual environment server system 120 (FIG. 1). The webpage may be
rendered by a browsing application 222, such as a web browser, at
the client computer 104. When the webpage is rendered, the
chat-only client application 112 is executed, thereby providing a
web-based interface to the server system 120. The script-based
module may be written in JAVASCRIPT.RTM., ECMASCRIPT, VBSCRIPT.TM.,
or any other suitable scripting language.
[0071] In some other embodiments, the chat-only client application
112 is a standalone application stored in memory 204 of the client
computer 104. In further embodiments, the chat-only client
application 112 may be an add-on or a plug-in to another
application. For, example, the chat-only client application 112 may
be a plug-in or extension to a web browser application 222 or an
email application. In further embodiments, the chat-only client
application 112 is an applet downloaded from a server over the
Internet.
[0072] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3B, the chat-only
client application 112 also receives avatar updates and virtual
environment status from the virtual environment server system 120
via the network interface 310. In some embodiments, this
information is in the form of text description. In the alternative,
or in addition, the client 104 receives one or more snapshots of a
multi-dimensional virtual environment, which are then displayed by
the client 104 (e.g., in a window of the chat-only client
application 112, or in a window of a client application, such as a
browser application). In this way, the client 104 can get an idea
of what is happening in the multi-dimensional virtual environment
and may be enticed to download or otherwise obtain the 3D client
application 110 in order to be able to render the multi-dimensional
virtual environment.
[0073] Referring to FIG. 1, in order to render a multi-dimensional
virtual environment, client 106 sends an HTTP request to the
virtual environment server system 120 requesting a "room
definition" associated with a multi-dimensional virtual
environment. The virtual environment server system 120 stores room
definitions for all multi-dimensional virtual environments that
logically exist on the virtual environment server system 120 in the
room database 180 (FIG. 1).
[0074] FIG. 4 illustrates a room database 180 having a plurality of
room definitions 400, each storing the information needed to
reproduce a respective multi-dimensional virtual environment,
according to some embodiments of the invention. In some
embodiments, the room database is stored in a storage server 170 of
the virtual environment server system 120. Furthermore, the room
definition 400 of a respective virtual environment, or a portion of
that room definition, is downloaded to a client 110 when a user of
the client 110 enters the virtual environment. The room definition
data downloaded to the client 110 enables that client to render the
virtual environment on the user interface of the client 110.
[0075] For each virtual environment that logically exists at the
virtual environment server system 120, a respective room definition
400 stores some or all of the following information: metadata 410,
status information 420, an optional snapshot view of the
multi-dimensional virtual environment 430, audio information 440,
room object information 450, and an access control list ("ACL")
470. In some embodiments, a respective room definition 400 may also
include other information, supporting additional features or
options not discussed here.
[0076] Metadata 410 optionally includes a unique identifier 405
associated with the multi-dimensional virtual environment. Metadata
410 may optionally include one or more themes or descriptions 415
associated with the virtual environment. The status information 420
indicates whether the virtual environment contains active users or
is idle. The status information 420 may also include information
associated with a current state of objects 455 and 460 present in
the multi-dimensional virtual environment. The current state may
include the current position of an object and/or a current activity
associated with the object. Snapshot view 430 stores a current (or
most recent) snapshot of the virtual environment. Audio information
440 may include ambient sound of the multi-dimensional virtual
environment. Audio information 440 may also include sounds
associated with actions performed by and/or behaviors associated
with objects in the multi-dimensional virtual environment. In some
embodiments, a room definition 400 includes a list of all the
objects in the room. Object information 450 stores an inventory of
non-avatar objects 455 and avatar objects 460 present in the
multi-dimensional virtual environment. Object information 450 is
discussed further in reference to FIG. 5.
[0077] The ACL 470 indicates which users have what type of access
to the multi-dimensional virtual environment. The types of access
to the virtual environment may include a no-access mode, a
read/look-only mode, a mode in which a user can read/look-only
without user presence being known to other users in the virtual
environment, and one or more modes in which users can participate
in the virtual environment, including being able to modify one or
more aspects of the multi-dimensional virtual environment. In some
embodiments, social network information is used to determine a
user's level of access to a corresponding virtual environment.
Accordingly, a user within a social network may have access to a
virtual environment associated with particular groups within the
social network. Alternately, the amount of access that user has
within a social network may depend on the amount of access the user
has to a virtual environment that corresponds to or is associated
with the social network. Additionally, or in the alternative, the
amount of access that a user has within a social network may depend
on how closely related the user is to a user of the corresponding
or associated virtual environment, which may be measured by one or
more appropriate metrics. For instance, closeness between a user of
a social network and a user of a virtual environment may be
measured in terms of degrees of separation between the two users,
or it may be measured in terms of the number of factors (of a
predefined set of factors) whose values are identical or otherwise
indicate that the two users are the same person or are authorized
to act on behalf of each other.
[0078] In some embodiments, a room is transmitted using a sequence
of HTTP requests. For example, the audio data 440 is transmitted
separately from the room definition 180, and the objects 450
referred to in the room definition 180 are also transmitted
separately.
[0079] FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of object information 450
for an object 500 that can be stored in the room database 180. As
discussed, the user can create multiple objects. Each object is an
instance of a respective object type, and therefore objects are
sometimes called object instances. Each object instance in a
virtual environment is saved separately in the object information
450 of a room definition 400. In some embodiments, the object
information 500 for a respective object includes an object
identifier 510 and object properties 520. The object identifier 510
uniquely identifies object instance 500. Object properties 520
include object type 530, an access control list 550, and
annotations 540. Object type 530 identifies one or more types or
categories to which the object 500 belongs. Annotations 540 are
supplemental text or other information associated with the object
500. Annotations 540 may be specified by one or more users of a
virtual environment. Annotations are further discussed in reference
with FIGS. 12 and 13.
[0080] Certain objects, herein called portal objects, function as
portals between virtual environments. For example, a particular
portal object may function as a portal from a first virtual
environment to a second virtual environment. Portal objects enable
a user's avatar to move from one virtual environment to another.
Portal objects are further discussed in reference with FIGS. 10 and
11. In some embodiments, all three-dimensional non-avatar objects
can function as portals. In some embodiments, for objects that can
function as a portal, object information 500 can store a portal
status indicator 550 that indicates whether a portal attribute is
on or off. Alternately, in some embodiments the object information
500 for a respective object includes a portal status indicator 550
only if the object is a portal object. When the portal attribute
550 of an object is on, the object is functioning as a portal from
a first virtual environment to a second virtual environment. When
the portal attribute 500 is on, object information 500 typically
also includes an identifier 560 or a location or addressing
information for the second virtual environment (i.e., for the
target virtual environment of the portal object). Further, object
information 500 for a portal object can further include a predicate
570, the occurrence of which causes the portal object to transport
a user (i.e., a user's avatar) from the first virtual environment
to the second virtual environment.
[0081] In some embodiments, avatar objects may have additional data
associated with them for storage as object information 500. As
illustrated in FIG. 5, object information 500 for an avatar object
may include actions 580 that are enabled for the object 500, and
user customizations 585 that the user has performed on the object
500.
[0082] Referring to FIG. 1, the virtual environments server system
120 stores chat information associated with each multi-dimensional
virtual environment that logically exists on the virtual
environment server system 120 in a chat database 155. FIG. 6
illustrates an embodiment of a chat database 155. FIG. 6 also
illustrates an embodiment of a user database 175 that stores user
information associated with each user of the virtual environment
server system 120.
[0083] For each multi-dimensional virtual environment, the chat
database 155 stores chat stream data 610. In some embodiments, the
amount of storage provided for storing the chat stream 610 is
limited such that only the last few chat text exchanges are stored.
For example, in some embodiments, the ten most current chat text
messages are stored for each virtual environment. The chat database
155 stores information about what avatar objects 620 are present in
the multi-dimensional virtual environment. For each avatar object
present in the room, the chat database 155 stores information 630
about the current position of the avatar, the current orientation
of the avatar and the most recent action (e.g., an action such as
walking, waving a hand, or dancing, etc.) being performed by the
avatar. In some embodiments, the avatar presence information 620
and the avatar position and action information 630 for a particular
avatar is removed from the chat database 155 once an avatar exits
the multi-dimensional virtual environment. In some embodiments, no
records are retained concerning chat streams (except possibly the
last few chat messages) and avatar presence, position and actions
with respect to past conversations and past visits by an
avatar.
[0084] The user database 175 is a user's inventory of avatar
instances. Users of clients 106 can store different looks for
respective avatars, as different instances. For each user, the user
database may store an identifier 640 and an avatar object instance
650. Avatar object instance 650 is a first instance of an avatar
object associated with the user. Related with avatar object
instance 650, the user database 175 may store an avatar identifier
655, enabled actions 670 for the avatar object instance 650, avatar
type 675, user customizations 680, and user preferences 685. The
avatar identifier 655 uniquely identifies the avatar instance 655.
In some embodiments, the avatar identifier 660 is mapped to the
user identifier 640. User customizations 680 are things that can
customize an avatar's appearance and/or enabled actions. The user
database 175 may also store metadata, such as user preferences 685.
For instance, the user preferences 685 may include a value that
indicates the user's preferred language. The user database 175 may
also store additional avatar instances, such as a second avatar
object instance 660, and additional avatar object instances, if
they exist. In some embodiments, the user database 175 is a
persistent data structure.
[0085] As discussed, the client 104 does not have a 3D chat client
application 110 and therefore cannot render a multi-dimensional
virtual environment. However, the client 104 may participate in a
communication session with one or more clients 706 having
respective 3D chat client applications 110 and/or one or more other
clients 104. In some embodiments, the client 104 may receive one or
more snapshots of the multi-dimensional virtual environment that is
being rendered at clients 106 who are participating in the same
virtual environment. In this way, a user of the client 104 can
participate in the chat aspect of the virtual environment and can
also receive partial information regarding the other aspects (e.g.,
visual aspects, avatar actions, etc) of what is happening in the
multi-dimensional virtual environment.
[0086] FIGS. 7B and 8 illustrate an embodiment of a method 701 and
system 800, respectively, to transmit a snapshot of a
multi-dimensional virtual environment to a client 704 with a
chat-only client application 112, while FIGS. 7A and 8 illustrate
an embodiment of a method 700 and system 800 for transmitting
virtual environment information to a client 706 having a 3D chat
client application 110. Both methods, 700, 701 begin with a
respective client sending an HTTP request (not shown) to the
virtual environment server system 120, specifying a virtual
environment (also called a room, virtual room, 3D chat room, etc.).
The HTTP request from the client 704 or 706 initiates a process
that enables the client's user to participate in the virtual
environment, using either a 3D chat client application 110 or a
chat-only application 112. The aforementioned HTTP request is
typically sent by a browser application at the client 704 or 706 in
response to (A) the client's user clicking on (i.e., selecting, or
activating) a link in a web page, email message, chat conversation,
or other document, or (B) the client's user selecting a bookmark
for the specified virtual environment, or (C) execution of a script
in a web page by the client's web browser, or (D) the client's user
completing an online form for selecting a virtual environment.
Other methods of initiating the sending of an HTTP request to the
virtual environment server system 120 may be used as well.
[0087] After a respective client 704 or 706 has received the
virtual environment information for local display, the clients
remains in a communication session with other clients (whose users
are participating in the same virtual environment), such as one or
more clients 716 having respective 3D chat client applications 110
and/or one or more other clients 714 with respective chat-only
client applications 112. The virtual environment server system 120
exchanges information with clients 704, 706, 714, 716 (FIG. 8).
[0088] In method 700 (FIG. 7A), the virtual environment server
system 120 transmits (702) a web page with an embedded script to
client 706 (see FIG. 8) in response to an HTTP request (as
discussed above). In some embodiments, room server 702 transmits
the web page. The client 706 receives the web page 706 and executes
the embedded script (703), which determines whether or not the
client 706 has a functional (i.e., installed, executable) copy of
the 3D chat client application. In this example, the client does
have a functional copy of the 3D chat client application, and the
embedded script sends a request for virtual environment information
to the virtual environment server system 120 (708). The server
receives the request and transmits the requested virtual
environment information to client 706 (710) for rendering at the
client by the 3D chat client application (712). In some
embodiments, storage server 170 transmits the requested virtual
environment information to client 706.
[0089] In some embodiments, the transmitted virtual environment
information is the information needed to populate the local
database 270 (FIG. 3A) with all the information needed to render
the specified virtual environment. In some embodiments, this
information is transmitted from the server system 120 to the client
706 using multiple requests and data transmissions. For example, an
initial set of object information may be transmitted, causing the
3D chat client application to request additional information about
the objects in the virtual environment. This methodology avoids
retransmission of any unexpired or valid information already
present in the local database 270 of the client, thereby reducing
latency (from first request to complete rendering of the virtual
environment at the client) and bandwidth usage.
[0090] In method 701 (FIG. 7B), the virtual environment server
system 120 transmits (722) a web page with an embedded script to
client 704 (see FIG. 8) in response to an HTTP request (as
discussed above). In some embodiments, room server 702 transmits
the web page. The client 704 receives the web page and executes the
embedded script (724), which determines whether or not the client
704 has a functional (i.e., installed, executable) copy of the 3D
chat client application. In this example, the client 704 does not
have a functional copy of the 3D chat client application, and
therefore the script embeds an image tag in the web page (726). In
some embodiments, the embedded image tag points to a location in or
associated with the server system 120. When the browser application
815 of client 704 attempts to render the image tag, it requests an
image from the server system 120 (728). For example, the request
may be an HTTP request sent by the browser application 815, the
HTTP request corresponding to the image tag inserted into the web
page by the script embedded in the web page. The server system 120
responds to the request by sending to the client 704 a snapshot 830
(also called a snapshot image) of the virtual environment specified
in the initial request from the client 704 to the server system 120
(730), which is then displayed at the client 704 (732), using a
browser application 815 or other application capable of displaying
the transmitted snapshot. In some embodiments, snapshot data 830 is
stored in room database 180 and served to browser application 815
by room server 190. In some embodiments, the snapshot image 830
transmitted to client 704 includes a representation of the
multi-dimensional virtual environment 230 rendered at a respective
client 706. In some embodiments, the snapshot image 830 was
previously generated by the client 706. In other embodiments,
however, the snapshot image 830 is generated at the virtual
environment server system 120, for instance by the room server 190.
In some embodiments, the snapshot image 830 is stored in the room
database 180 as a snapshot view 430, as described in reference to
FIG. 4, and the snapshot view 430 is used as the source of the
image 830 that is transmitted (730) to the client 704. In some
embodiments, the snapshot image 830 is served by room server
190.
[0091] In some embodiments, the virtual environment server system
120 transmits a sequence of images to the client 704. The sequence
of images 730 include multiple representations of a respective
multi-dimensional virtual environment rendered at client 706 over a
period of time (e.g., one image every N seconds or every N
minutes). In some embodiments, the browser application 815
re-invokes the image tag at a predefined rate (e.g., a rate
specified by a parameter or script in the web page being rendered
by the browser application 815). In some embodiments, the images
displayed at client 704 give the appearance of a web-cam that shows
the current state of a respective virtual environment.
[0092] In some further embodiments, the virtual environment server
system 120 transmits a sequence of images to the client 704 unless
a predefined condition exists. For instance, in some embodiments,
only a predefined number of images may be sent to the client
704.
[0093] The image and/or sequence of images 730 can be used to
present a client 704 with a snapshot of a multi-dimensional virtual
environment. This may then entice the client 704 to obtain 3D
client application 110 so that the client 704 can navigate or
participate in the multi-dimensional virtual environment.
[0094] In addition to, or in the alternative, enabling display of
one or more snapshots 830 of a multi-dimensional virtual
environment at a client 704 lacking a 3D client application 112,
the virtual environment server system 120 enables display of text
describing actions 910 being performed by avatar objects present in
the multi-dimensional virtual environment at client 704, as
illustrated in the system 900 of FIG. 9. The text 910 is rendered
by chat-only client application 112 in a manner similar to chat
stream data received from the virtual environment server system
120. The text 910 is displayed on a user interface (such as,
display) 810 associated with the client 704, for instance, in-line
with the chat text of the virtual environment.
[0095] Once participating in a first multi-dimensional virtual
environment, a client 106 may want to enter into a second
multi-dimensional virtual environment. FIG. 10 illustrates a
process 1000 of a client having a 3D client application 110, using
a portal from a first virtual environment to a second virtual
environment according to some embodiments of the invention.
[0096] As shown in FIG. 10, a client 1006 having a 3D client
application 110 is participating in a first multi-dimensional
virtual environment (referred to as "Room A" in FIG. 10) with a
client 1016, also having a 3D client application 110. The client
1006 sets the portal attribute of an object in the
multi-dimensional virtual environment (1010), causing the object to
become a portal to a second multi-dimensional virtual environment,
referred to as "Room B" in FIG. 10. For example, the value of the
portal attribute of the object is changed from a first predefined
value (e.g., "off" or 0) to a second predefined value (e.g., "on"
or 1), or alternately a portal attribute is added to the definition
of the object (which previously did not have a portal attribute).
In some embodiments, the portal attribute includes, or is
associated with, an identifier of the second multi-dimensional
virtual environment. In some embodiments, the client 1006 specifies
an identifier (e.g., name, location or address information) for the
second multi-dimensional virtual environment (referred to as "Room
B" in FIG. 10) when setting the portal attribute of the object. The
identifier of the second multi-dimensional virtual environment can
be room identifier 405 (FIG. 4), and/or a URL for the second
multi-dimensional virtual environment.
[0097] Upon activation of the portal attribute of the object
(1020), an indication that the object now functions as a portal is
provided to the client 1016. In some embodiments, the indication is
provided in response to one or more actions 1015 by client's 1016
user or avatar, such as the user using their mouse to hover over
the object. For instance, the indication is provided in response to
client's 1016 avatar or the user's cursor coming in proximity to
the object that now functions as a portal. Alternately, whenever
the metadata associated with any object in a virtual environment is
modified, the updated metadata is transmitted to the clients of the
current participants of the virtual environment (or at least to
those clients that have the 3D client application).
[0098] FIG. 11 illustrates several embodiments, each of which
displays different indications of an object functioning as a
portal. Scenario 1110 illustrates a first virtual environment (Room
A) having two objects 1105 and 1115, the respective portal
attributes for which are set to Off (or, alternately, which do not
have portal attributes). Scenarios 1120, 1130, 1140 and 1150
illustrate the first virtual environment (Room A), but object 1115
now functions as a portal to a second virtual environment (Room B)
while non-portal object 1105 remains the same as in scenario 1110.
In scenario 1120, portal object 1115 is highlighted or shaded to
provide a visual indication that objection 1115 is a portal object.
In scenario 1130, portal 1115 is being pointed to by an arrow or
other indicator 1135 to provide a visual indication that objection
1115 is a portal object. In scenario 1140, portal object 1115
displays a snapshot image 1145 or a sequence of images 1145 of the
second virtual environment (Room B) to provide a visual indication
that objection 1115 is a portal object. In scenario 1150, portal
object 1115 displays description 1155 of the second virtual
environment (Room B) to provide a visual indication that objection
1115 is a portal object. A combination of two or more of scenarios
1120-1150 may also be used to indicate that object 1115 functions
as a portal to the second virtual environment (Room B).
[0099] In some embodiments, object 1115 provides client 1016 with
information about the content or type of virtual environment of
second virtual environment (Room B). For instance, if object 1115
is a fireplace (of includes an image of a fireplace), then it may
provide the user of client 1016 with an idea that the second
virtual environment (Room B) is a fiery place.
[0100] Referring again to FIG. 10, at 1030, if the client 1016
meets one or more pre-conditions (1030), client 1016 is enabled to
invoke the portal object to exit the first virtual environment
(Room A) and enter the second virtual environment (Room B). A
pre-condition can be the entering of a correct password, being
within a certain radius or proximity of the portal object, the
client or the avatar of the client 1016 performing a pre-defined
action (e.g., clicking the portal object using a cursor), and/or an
avatar of the client 1016 being in possession of an object (e.g., a
key). Further, in some environments, client 1016 must have
permission to at least view the second virtual environment (Room
B), as specified in the ACL 470 (if any) of the second virtual
environment (Room B).
[0101] At 1040, the virtual environment server system 120 receives
an indication that client 1016 has invoked portal object to be
transported to the second virtual environment (Room B). The
indication is received upon the portal object being invoked by the
client 1016. Alternatively, or in addition, at 1050, the virtual
environment server system 120 receives an HTTP request from client
1016 for room definitions associated with the second virtual
environment (Room B).
[0102] In response to the indication that client 1016 has invoked
portal object and/or the HTTP request from client 1016, at 1060,
the virtual environment server system 120 transmits room
definitions associated with the second virtual environment (Room
B). The second virtual environment (Room B) is then rendered at
client 1016 using 3D client application 110. However, in some
embodiments, upon receiving from a third client data indicating
that the third client has invoked the portal object, the server
prevents the third client from participating in the second virtual
environment (Room B) if the third client is not authorized to
participate in the second virtual environment (e.g., if the third
client is not listed in the ACL 470 of Room B, or is excluded from
participation in accordance with information in the ACL 470 of Room
B).
[0103] The user of a client that is participating in a
multi-dimensional virtual environment may want to annotate an
object in the multi-dimensional virtual environment. FIGS. 12 and
13 are block diagrams of a system 1200 and method 1300,
respectively, for annotating an object in a first multi-dimensional
virtual environment according to some embodiments. A client 1206
having a 3D client application 110 is participating in a
multi-dimensional virtual environment. The client 106 may be the
only participant, or one or more additional clients 1216 also
having a 3D client application 110 may be present. The
multi-dimensional virtual environment contains at least a first
object (referred to as "Object 1" in FIG. 12).
[0104] The user of client 1206 annotates the first object. In some
embodiments, in order to annotate the first object, the user of
client 1206 selects an "annotate" command or attribute associated
with the first object. Upon selection of the "annotate" command or
attribute, in some embodiments, a text box appears, in which a user
of client 1206 can enter an annotation.
[0105] The annotation 1210 by client 1206 is transmitted to and
received at the virtual environment server system 120. In some
embodiments, the annotation is stored in annotations 540 (FIG. 5)
as being associated with the first object in the room database 180.
As discussed above, the room database 180 (FIG. 4) stores one or
more annotations 540 associated with objects in the
multi-dimensional virtual environments.
[0106] The multi-dimensional virtual environment is updated to
display the annotation 1210 by client 1206. In some embodiments,
the annotation is displayed in proximity to the first object, so as
to make clear that the annotation is associated with the first
object. In some embodiments, the annotation is displayed by client
1216 in response to the meeting of a pre-defined condition, such as
in response to the entering of a correct password, the avatar of
the client 1216 being within a certain radius or proximity of the
portal object, and/or the avatar of the client 1216 performing a
pre-defined action (e.g., clicking upon the first object using a
cursor). In some embodiments, the client 1216 may also annotate the
first object. The annotation 1220 by client 1216 may be displayed
in place of or in addition to the annotation by client 1206. Both
clients 1206 and 1216 may continue to collaboratively annotate the
first object. For instance, the client 1216 may annotate the first
object again. In some embodiments, the annotation 1230 by client
1216 may be displayed in place of or in addition to other
annotations 1210 and 1220 associated with the first object.
[0107] Alternately, or in addition, the client 1216 may annotate a
second object, in which case the client 1216 sends to the server
system 120 the annotation of the second object, and the server
system 120 sends the annotation of the second object to the first
client 1206 for display at the first client 1206.
[0108] FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a virtual environment 1410
having two objects 1420 and 1430. Object 1420 has not been
annotated, while object 1430 has been annotated with the
annotation: "This is a box with dots!" In some embodiments, the
virtual environment 1410 also displays (not shown) an identifier
for the avatar that annotated object 1420. In some embodiments, the
virtual environment 1410 also displays (not shown) other
information, such as time of annotation, version of annotation, and
so on.
[0109] FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a server-side method
1300 annotating an object in a first virtual multi-dimensional
environment according to some embodiments. A client 1206 having a
3D client application 110 is participating in a multi-dimensional
virtual environment with at least one other client 1216 having a 3D
client application 110. The multi-dimensional virtual environment
contains at least a first object.
[0110] At 1310, an annotation by client 1206 is received at the
virtual environment server system 120. At 1320, the
multi-dimensional virtual environment is updated to display the
annotation by client 1206. At 1330, the annotation by client 1206
is stored in a database (e.g., the room database 180) as
annotations 540 (FIG. 5) associated with the first object.
[0111] In some embodiments, the virtual environment server system
120 receives an annotation of the first object by a second client
1216. At 1350, the multi-dimensional virtual environment is updated
to display the annotation by client 1216. At 1360, the annotation
by client 1206 is stored in a database (e.g., the room database
180) as annotations 540 associated with the first object. As noted
above, in some embodiments, whenever an object in a virtual
environment is updated (1330, 1360), update information is
transmitted to the clients of the current participants in the
virtual environment (this operation is not shown if FIG. 13),
thereby enabling those clients to display the updated virtual
environment.
[0112] In some embodiments, at 1370, a search query by a client 106
is received at the virtual environment server system 120. For
example, the search query may include one or more terms of an
annotation associated with an object in a virtual environment. At
1380, the virtual environment server system 120 searches the room
database 180 to identify one or more objects having respective
annotations that match the received search query. Alternatively, or
in addition, the virtual environment server system 120 searches the
room database 180 to identify one or more multi-dimensional virtual
environments having respective annotations associated with objects
therein that match the received search query. Alternatively, or in
addition, the virtual environment server system 120 uses room
metadata 410, such as room ID 405 and/or theme 415, to find rooms
corresponding to search queries. In addition, in some embodiments a
search query received by the server system 120 may be executed by
the server system 120 to identify objects, in either the current
virtual environment and/or other virtual environments, having
object names that match the search query. Information about virtual
environments, or objects or both, satisfying the search query is
transmitted to the requesting client (not shown).
[0113] Referring to FIG. 13, in some embodiments, the search query
at 1370 is received by the incoming chat server 135, and delegated
by logic 140 to the delegate server 165. At 1380, logic 165 within
the delegate server 160 accesses the room database 180 to identify
object(s) and/or multi-dimensional virtual environment(s) having
respective annotations that match the received search query. In
other embodiments, delegate server 160 is not involved in search.
Rather, room-related data (including object annotations) is
inserted into a general-purpose search engine by the storage server
170 and by other server-side tools. Search queries are sent to the
general-purpose search engine via the room server 190, which serves
the initial search page, and serves the results pages. Alternately,
the delegate server 160 may include such a general-purpose search
engine.
[0114] In some embodiments, the virtual environment server system
110 enables advanced types of communication between clients
participating in a multi-dimensional virtual environment. In these
embodiments, as described in reference to FIGS. 15-17, the virtual
environment server system 110 determines a concept in the
communication between two clients participating in a
multi-dimensional virtual environment and searches a media
database, such as an image database (or audio database, video
database or multimedia database), to find media, such as images (or
audio, video or multimedia content), matching the concept.
[0115] FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 1500 for
presenting media data, such as displaying images (or presenting
audio, video or multimedia content), associated with concepts in
communications being exchanged in a multi-dimensional virtual
environment, according to some embodiments of the invention. FIG.
16 is a block diagram illustrating a system 1600 for presenting
media, such as displaying images, associated with concepts in
communications being exchanged in a multi-dimensional virtual
environment, according to some embodiments of the invention.
[0116] As illustrated in FIG. 16, the virtual environment server
system 110 maintains a media database. In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 16, the virtual environment server system 110 maintains an
image database 1620. At 1510, the image database 1620 is
dynamically updated. Further, in some embodiments, the image
database 1620 is dynamically updated so as to include images
associated with news events.
[0117] The delegate server 160 includes semantic analysis logic
1615 to associate concept(s) with at least some of the images in
the image database. For example, the delegate server 160 may
perform concept mapping logic over a corpus, such as a collection
of web documents. For each encountered image, it may analyze or
filter the words and terms in anchor tags that point to the image.
Similarly, when an image is located in a document (e.g., a news
story or web page), text near the image may be similarly analyzed
or filtered to determine one or more concepts or categories
associated with the image. This concept mapping logic may be
performed as a preprocessing step. The results of the association
of images to concepts and vice-a-versa may be stored in index 1630
in the image database 1620 or another database (not shown). Thus,
index 1630 maps concepts to images.
[0118] At 1520, the virtual environment server system 110
determines concepts in communications being exchanged in a
multi-dimensional virtual environment. In some embodiments, the
incoming chat server 135 receives communications being exchanged in
a multi-dimensional virtual environment by clients 1606 and 1616.
Logic 140 delegates analysis of the communications to the delegate
server 160, which uses semantic analysis logic 1615 to determine
one or more concepts associated with the discussion (e.g., of the
content of the communications) being had in the multi-dimensional
virtual environment by clients 1606 and 1616.
[0119] In some embodiments, the one or more concepts that are
determined by the semantic analysis logic 1615 are distinct from
the actual text of the communications between the first client and
second client in the communication session. For instance, if the
client 1606 exchanges the following text with client 1616: "I want
to rule the world!," the concept "crown" may be determined by the
semantic analysis logic 1615, even though the word "crown" does not
appear in the statement made by client 1616.
[0120] At 1530, an image database 1620 is searched for images that
match the concept using the index 1630. The index 1630 maps the
concept with images in the image database 1620. In some
embodiments, a best result analysis is performed, returning the
image that best matches the concept.
[0121] At 1540, image search results are transmitted to clients
1606 and 1616 for display. Further, as indicated by the dashed line
in FIG. 15, in some embodiments, the index 1630 is searched based
on the content of one or more further communications between the
first client and second client in the communication session to
produce updated image search results. The updated search results
are then transmitted to the first and second clients for display at
1540.
[0122] In some embodiments, the search result is displayed in a
pre-defined region in proximity to the object in the
multi-dimensional virtual environment to which it is associated.
Further, in some embodiments, the search results are displayed so
as to appear to be associated with an object (avatar or non-avatar)
in the multi-dimensional virtual environment. Further, in some
embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 17, the search result is
displayed as a thought associated with the object in the
multi-dimensional virtual environment to which it is
associated.
[0123] FIG. 17 illustrates a multi-dimensional virtual environment
1700 rendered in a web browser window 1720, in the display 1710 of
a client 1606. There are two objects in the multi-dimensional
virtual environment 170, object A and object B. Image 1750 that
results from the image search result is displayed as an image
bubble 1740 associated with Object B. For example, in the example
given above, in which the concept "crown" is mapped to a statement
by client 1606, whose avatar is Object B of FIG. 17, an image 1750
of a crown appears as an image bubble 1740 associated with avatar
Object B.
[0124] While FIGS. 15-17 describe presentation of images, other
types of media data, such as audio, video and multimedia may be
presented.
[0125] The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has
been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the
illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or
to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many
modifications and variations are possible in view of the above
teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to
best explain the principles of the invention and its practical
applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best
utilize the invention and various embodiments with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
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